Sleep
by TheShunnedPrince
Summary: What Magnus and Alec did, or rather didn't do, while they were alone in CoA.


The second Jace stepped out of the door, Magnus let out a sigh of relief. The blonde was like those pieces of gum you could never peel off your shoe. Except that he was worse, given the fact that he could talk, and nothing good ever came out of that mouth of his.

So Magnus shook his head, and turned around to see a sight even more beautiful and relieving than Jace Morgenstern leaving his apartment: Alec Lightwood standing awkwardly by the coffee table, both of his hands working on unraveling a thread hanging off one of his hideous black sweaters. His gorgeous blue eyes stayed fixed on his shoes, sometimes darting around anxiously. When Alec noticed Magnus staring at him, he blushed a deep crimson, and ran a hand through his raven black hair, messing it up even more than it already was.

"So, you have anything planned?" Alec asked Magnus, and then stared down at his shoes, as if he was embarrassed. Magnus just beamed as if Alec had recited a complicated Latin incantation, and Alec's face flushed again.

"Of course I have something planned, darling. Don't I always?" Magnus answered mischievously. "Wait here, I'll be back." And with that, Magnus was out of the room.

As soon as Magnus left, Alec sighed and collapsed on the couch. He was tired as hell since he hadn't slept well for weeks, and all he wanted to do was sink into Magnus's arms and go to sleep. He spent most of his nights lying awake, worrying about Jace, since he knew Jace wouldn't worry about himself, and when he did manage to fall asleep, he was plagued by nightmares, which had gotten worse since his fight with Abaddon.

But Alec wouldn't dare falling asleep tonight. He didn't want to ruin Magnus's plans by passing out and showing Magnus exactly how messed up he was. No, he was _not_ going to fall asleep.

 _Well,_ thought Alec, _if I stay on this couch much longer, I_ will _fall asleep._ It was true, the couch was very warm, smelled like Magnus, and reminded Alec of his first date with Magnus, which had been sort of a disaster, but the end result hadn't been so bad.

With great effort, Alec pushed himself up from the couch and into a standing position. Thinking about maybe getting some water, Alec took a step forward, and felt the world tilt on its axis. His eyelids were drooping, and it was getting harder and harder to force them open. His body felt like it weighed a million pounds, and he was just so damn tired. Alec heard somebody call out his name, and the shattering of glass, but he had already let his eyes close, and was sinking gratefully into the darkness.

Magnus had left Alec standing by the couch to get some wine. He was lying when he had things planned. Ever since his first date with Alec, he thought that maybe he should just improvise from now on. And since he knew that Alec was sometimes perfectly content to just stand there, picking at his sweater, Magnus had made the first move. Now, as he poured wine into two glasses, he was reminded of the first time he had served Alec wine in his loft. The memory brought a smile to his face.

Humming lightly to himself, Magnus walked back towards Alec, holding two glasses of wine. He found Alec standing where he had left him, and Magnus smirked a bit. He cleared his throat, but Alec appeared not to notice him. Magnus frowned, noticing Alec's slumped posture, and the rapid blinking of his eyes.

"Alec?" Magnus called. Instead of responding, Alec started to fall towards the floor. Magnus immediately dropped the wine glasses, staining the carpet once again with wine, and rushed to Alec's side, catching him before Alec could hit the ground. Magnus gathered Alec into his arms, and lifted him onto the couch, and immediately started checking him over for injuries. After finding none, Magnus let out a frustrated sigh, and ran a hand through his hair, shaking loose several sparkles.

"What the hell just happened?" Magnus asked out loud. He bent over Alec, frowning as he brushed Alec's hair out of his eyes. Alec was breathing, he had a pulse, his heartbeat was strong, and he wasn't injured. Magnus could swear that Alec was...sleeping? The realization hit Magnus like a train. Of course Alec was sleeping. Magnus had noticed the dark circles, and the sluggish movements the second Alec had stepped into his loft. Cursing himself for not noticing this before, Magnus lightly tapped Alec's cheek.

"Alexander?" Magnus said, "Open those pretty blue eyes of yours." Alec's eyelids fluttered a bit before opening. He found himself lying on the couch, not sure how he got there.

"Magnus?" Alec asked, "What happened?" Magnus smiled a little.

"Alexander, how much sleep have you been getting these past few days?" Magnus asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Not much," Alec sighed, knowing it was an understatement, but also too tired to lie. Magnus sighed, and tried to look angry but fond at the same time.

"And why didn't you tell me that you were tired and wanted to sleep?" Magnus pushed. Alec looked down at his sweater, and nervously fiddled with the sleeve.

"I didn't want to ruin your plans. You wanted to do things with me, and I didn't want to hurt your feelings by going to sleep," he admitted. Magnus was having a hard time deciding whether to slap Alec, or pull him into a hug.

"God dammit, Alec. I didn't have any plans, I was playing with you. And even if I did, do you really think so lowly of me that I would hate you for falling asleep because you haven't been getting any sleep?" Magnus half yelled. Alec gaped.

"I'm sorry," he said weakly, "I didn't think of it that way." Magnus softened.

"Alec, it's okay. Just... think more about your health from now on. Now, come on, love, let's go to bed."

"Do I have to sleep?" Alec whispered, staring down at his shoes, "I get these horrible nightmares whenever I manage to close my eyes for longer than ten minutes." Magnus frowned. He could tell how much it hurt Alec's pride to tell him this.

"I think there's a spell I can put on you to get you to sleep peacefully." Alec's eyes, full of hope, snapped up to Magnus's face.

"Okay," he said, and he let Magnus help him up from the couch.

Alec climbed into Magnus's bed, and made himself a cocoon of blankets. He felt warm and safe, like he always did with Magnus. Magnus climbed into bed next to Alec, put his arms around him, and started muttering a spell. Alec snuggled closer to Magnus, and knew that he didn't really need the spell to sleep peacefully. Not when he had Magnus. But he let the warlock cast it on him anyway, and soon, Alec was sinking into a dreamless sleep. The last words he heard was Magnus muttering:

"Good night, love. You're safe now." And Alec let himself sleep.


End file.
